The Shadow League
by Frostbitten
Summary: A trainer fic that soon spirals out into a story of a league of magic and wizardry.


Hey everyone, this is a fic I've been working on for some time. Enjoy! I do not own Pokemon or anything like that, blah blah blah..  
  
THE SHADOW LEAGUE Chapter 1 - Born To Be The Master  
  
The crowd cheered wildly as the exciting final of the Shadow League between Nikki and the mysterious champion reached its climax.  
  
"Well, this has been one heck of a roller-coaster battle, with each trainer now down to their final Pokemon, Nikki's Gengar and the champions Dragonite!" announced the commentator. Dragonite moved first, on it's trainers command.  
  
"OK, Mega Punch, Slash and Hyper Beam!" Gengar was sent flying back by the forceful punch. He attempted to shield himself from the slashes but was badly hurt. Then came the Hyper Beam. To Nikki's relief, Gengar jumped just in time and avoided the blast. Time to strike back.  
  
"Quickly, Lick!" Gengar extended its tongue and slobbered all over Dragonite, paralysing it.  
  
"Now, Night Shade!" Gengar fired the black beam at Dragonite. It writhed in pain.  
  
"Now, finish it by using Mimic to learn its Hyper Beam and attack!" Gengar danced about for a few seconds, then fired the beam. It flew towards Dragonite to deliver the killing blow. It came closer and closer, then suddenly.  
  
"NIKKI FOSTER, WAKE UP!!!!!" My sister Claire shook me hard. I woke up abruptly.  
  
"Huh? This isn't the Shadow League final." Claire groaned.  
  
"No, sorry, but it's your bedroom. NOW HURRY UP AND GET READY!! You're gonna be late, you'll miss your chance to become a trainer!" My eyes widened.  
  
"Oh god, I forgot!" Claire stormed out of the room. I threw on a white sleeveless t-shirt and an unbuttoned, checkered shirt over it, and a pair of jeans cut to just below knee height, a baseball cap and trainers, then dashed downstairs and out the door, ignoring my mothers shrieks to sit down and eat some breakfast. As I was going out the gate, Claire called me from an upstairs window. I looked back, and saw a pack in her hands - my pack.  
  
"You forgot it, bozo!" she said, and threw it to me. I caught it.  
  
"Uh, thanks." She rolled her eyes and shut the window. I had packed some supplies in this, glad she hadn't let me forget it. Then I hurried to Rosebark Cities Pokemon School. Graduation Day.  
  
I entered through the automatic door, into a packed assembly hall. At the front, I saw the principal Mr. Domar, and 2 of the Elite Four from some league I had seen on TV. I couldn't remember the name of the league, but I remembered these two. They were Koga and Karen, masters of Poison and Dark Pokemon. This was gonna be awesome! Mr. Domar took the microphone.  
  
"Welcome, students! Today is the day a mere 8 of you will graduate and be allowed to train for the Shadow League, ranked second in the worlds most challenging and elite Pokemon Leagues!! And now, without further ado, I will open the doors to the main hall, where your results will be posted. Only the top 16 will make it through to the final test! Good Luck to everyone!" He opened the doors and we stampeded into the hall.  
  
We had taken test after test after test, and countless simulation battles for this. We were to be marked out of 1000. Pokemon School was free, so that rich snobs couldn't have advantages, and REAL Pokemon trainers would shine. I searched frantically for my picture. If it had a green background, I was ranked high enough to compete in the final 16. If red, then it's "Good Bye, Good Luck next year!" Eventually I found it. I checked my score, 814/1000, then checked the color. It was...it was.it was  
  
.GREEN!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! I nearly fainted! I was in!! I ran around cheering and throwing my hands in the air for ages. Then I spotted my friend Fiona. She was a pretty girl, with shoulder length black hair, and small glasses. And BOY CAN SHE STUDY! Fiona is incredibly smart. I knew she could pass. Wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt and navy jeans, she was staring up at her face on the board. I looked up at, and gasped.  
  
982/1000!! I quickly checked the board with the top 3 scorers, and there was Fiona's smiling face, right on top, her incredible score beside it. I ran over to her.  
  
"Fiona! 982! That's incredible!" She seemed to be in shock. I shook her a little, and she came round. She turned and smiled at me.  
  
"Oh, hi, Nick! Yeah, isn't it great!" I grinned. Suddenly we heard nearby sniggering. We turned and saw Dean Karoi, the richest, most stubborn, horrible person imaginable. He had black hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a pair of black jeans, with a black leather jacket with flame patterns and a white t-shirt.  
  
"Ha! 982! You just got lucky! I could've beaten you, you just had some lucky guesses on the multiple choice questions, I bet!" I turned back to the top scorers board, and there was Dean's face, right under Fiona's: 956/1000. I couldn't believe that jerk had done so well. He must have cheated.  
  
"You shouldn't brag!" said Fiona. "We're lucky to have done so well, and it's mean to rub it in other peoples faces!" Dean did a lousy impression of Fiona saying that then walked off in hysterics as if it was funny.  
  
"Don't mind him, Fiona." I reassured her. "You deserved it all, and I know you'll pass the next round."  
  
20 minutes later, it was time for the non-achievers to depart. I felt sorry for them. It made me mad to see some who I knew were great leave when the like's of Dean were going through. Koga spoke the rest of us.  
  
"Congratulations on making it this far. Now that your mind's have been tested, it is time to see what you have truly learned. You will each be given a random Pokemon, and paired up. The winners go on as trainers. The losers, lose." Karen had a basket with 16 Pokeballs in it. She threw it into the air and they spilled all over the floor. We looked at her in confusion.  
  
"When your name is called, choose a Pokeball." She declared. One by one we were called. When it came to my turn, I closed my eyes and let my hand hover over the balls for a few seconds. "Some time today, Foster." I heard Dean say. I ignored him, then swooped my hand down and grabbed a ball. Soon, we were ready to begin.  
  
The first match was between a girl called Miranda and a boy called Joey. Miranda got an Arbok, and Joey had a Vileplume. Arbok mopped the floor with the poor grass Pokemon. Next were 2 girls, Kelly and Sarah. Kelly's Pidgeotto put up a good fight and defeated Sarah's Lickitung. Another boy/girl match up next, Danny and Melissa. Danny had Golem against her Dragonair, and won. Fiona was up next, against a boy called Brent. She got a Skiploom, he had Raichu. It took her a while to steady her nerves, and she wasn't thinking straight and attacking properly at first, but eventually she got into it and defeated him with a well-timed Solarbeam. I gave her a thumbs up as she stepped off the field. She smiled. Dean, in the next match got a Fearow against a girl called Jessica's Slowbro. I hate to say it, but he did really well, and OBLITERATED the poor Slowbro. Alan and Girafarig vs. Barry and Haunter=Alan won. Then, Kenneth and Nidorino against Darryn and Wigglytuff=Kenneth won. Finally it was my turn. I was up against a guy called Kevin. I knew he was good, he was the third best scorer. This would be tough.  
  
We took our places on the field. Kevin released his Pokemon, a Vaporeon. Tricky. I threw my Pokeball, praying it wouldn't be a Fire or Rock type. It was a Starmie. At least it was even.  
  
"Starmie, Rapid Spin!" I commanded. Starmie spun at Vaporeon, but Kevin commanded it to use Acid Armor and Starmie sliced through it like it was water. Vaporeon materialised again.  
  
"Starmie, Bubblebeam!"  
  
"Vaporeon, attack and break the bubbles with Water Gun!" Water Gun burst the powerful bubbles and smacked Starmie, driving it into the wall. Vaporeon followed up with Tackle. Starmies jewel was flashing, indicating low health. I had to do something.  
  
"Starmie, Double Team!" Starmie jumped up and surrounded Vaporeon with clones. Then, something came to me, something I had seen on a televised battle in an Orange Island Gym.  
  
"Starmie, spin on the spot! Fast! As fast as you can!" Kevin wasn't taking any chances.  
  
"Vaporeon, use Water Gun to destroy the clones and stop the real Starmie. Vaporeon attacked the many spinning Starmies, but I had my plan complete before he could finish. Sparks started to fly around Starmie.  
  
"OK, now I know you don't think you can do this, but Starmie try to Thunderbolt!" Starmie span faster, and electricity built up around. Then it unleashed a massive blast into the air, which rained down on Vaporeon. It fainted.  
  
"YES!" I roared. Koga folded his arms and smiled. "Impressive."  
  
We said goodbye to those who lost, and finally we could begin. At last, I could start my journey. Karen had 8 more Pokeballs. "Each of these contains a starter. I'm going to throw them up. Catch one! I hope you find something your looking for!" I prayed for a Scyther, even though I knew there was almost no chance of getting one. Karen threw the 8 of them up. We all jumped as high as we could. After a lot of pushing and scrambling, we each had one. "Now," said Koga, "release your Pokemon!" We threw the Pokeballs up-Me, Fiona, Dean, Danny, Miranda, Kelly, Alan and Kenneth. A bright stream of light flew from each. I had to shield my eyes to avoid being blinded by the lights. Then, I opened my eyes, to see what my Pokemon was. 


End file.
